Many articles of manufacture and articles of wear benefit from traction elements. Such articles usually come into contact with a surface, such as the ground, and may be prone to slipping, instability, and other insecure contact with the surface. Traction elements provide increased friction and grip between the item and the surface that the item contacts. Traction elements usually are attached to the ground contacting surface of the article. Such traction elements are typically designed to provide additional traction in connection with a specific type of action that occurs when the article contacts the surface or ground. For example, athletic footwear may have cleats of particular sizes and shapes that are designed to provide the wearer with traction during a particular action. These cleats are often designed to provide additional traction or to prevent slipping or grip problems for a single type of action or movement. Such cleats may not provide traction for multiple types of actions and movements. Further, they may not be capable of adapting to the various actions and motions of a wearer during dynamic use of the article of footwear.
Some articles may have interchangeable traction elements that accommodate a variety of types of actions and movements. Replacing traction elements can be inefficient and time consuming. For example, an athlete may want articles of footwear that provide traction both for running and for pivoting. Typically, traction elements are designed for only one of those actions. The athlete must choose which type of traction is most important and possibly forego having traction elements that provide traction in the other type of action. Many users would appreciate if a single traction element would be able to provide traction in more than one type of action or motion and/or adapt to the dynamic conditions of various motions.
Further, most cleats are not able to adapt to various conditions. Cleats are oftentimes designed for contact with a hard surface or a soft surface, but not both types of surfaces. Cleats designed for soft surfaces tend to have a greater height relative to cleats designed for harder surfaces. Cleats for softer surfaces need to extend into the ground a greater distance to ensure stable and secure contact with the surface. Some surfaces are not uniform in hardness. Users may wish to transition from a soft surface to a hard surface quickly. Users would benefit from a cleat that is able to quickly transform its traction capabilities to conform to various types of surfaces.
Therefore, while some traction elements are currently available, there is room for improvement in this art. For example, an article of wear having traction elements with selective additional stability would be a desirable advancement in the art. Additionally, traction elements capable of providing traction under a variety of conditions and in many types of motions would also be welcomed in the art. Still further, an article having traction elements that are selectively retractable and able to adapt their characteristics to various types of surfaces would be a desirable advancement in the art.